The Gastronomic Culture of the Deori Community residing in Assam

The Deoris or Deuris are one of the distinct Tribal Communities of undivided Assam they are affiliated to the great Tibeto-Burman group. At present the Deoris are residing mainly in the districts of Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat of Assam, Lohit and Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh. The traditional foods prepared by the people of North Eastern region are intimately connected to their sociocultural and ecological, spiritual, life and health. In each state, the food processing method or the culinary skills are somewhat different from others and based on the culture, variability in the materials used in the food, climate and overall knowledge of the processing and preparation as well. Identity is an important outcome, a condition created largely through heritage or firm grip into one’s own roots which may or may not be conveyed through rituals as the vehicle of transmission. Food helps in the formation of a larger part of one’s Identity. Food also is a part and parcel of one’s Culture. Gastronomy is the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine. The term subsumes cooking techniques, nutritional facts, food cuisine and palatability plus applications of taste and smell as human ingestion of food stuffs. This paper will mainly focus on the food habits and food items, culinary skills, food processing of the Deori community of Assam under the broader context of cultural heritage.